Fresh approach urged for tech company regulation

Courtesy Photo

by STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

While floating the idea of steering revenues from fantasy sports taxes to pay for transportation, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh on Sunday cautioned against over-regulation of tech-driven companies that are coming up with products that customers are embracing.

"You have a lot of new ideas for companies and technology's really driving it. And I think the government -- federal government and state and city government -- have to catch up to technology," Walsh told "On the Record" hosts Janet Wu and Ed Harding on WCVB Sunday morning.

Walsh mentioned Uber, DraftKings and Airbnb as examples of companies making their mark on the transportation, fantasy sports and rental industries.

"We have to figure a way of how do we regulate this new type of business model in this country. And that's what we have to do. We have to figure out how we're going to do it," he said.

Policymakers should consider regulation of such companies "in a different manner," Walsh said.

"When you talk about the changing environment that we have, you know we have more tech and more startup companies in the City of Boston than we've ever had," he said. "There's a real emphasis on that. When you go around the country ... every economy that's booming in different cities, it's around the tech industry. We're gonna see more and more of these companies. So we have to figure out -- you can't over-regulate them, we can't discourage them from starting up."